UPDATED: Man with history of drunken behavior banned from Belmont Shore

That's what a 24-year-old Long Beach resident faces after he pleaded no contest to public intoxication and was sentenced to 60 days in jail.

What makes Andrew Zea unique is that as part of his plea, he cannot return to the popular entertainment and retail shopping area along East Second Street between Bay Shore Drive and Livingstone Drive for three years.

Zea is the first person to accept banishment as a condition of parole, which is part of the new "Belmont Shore Ban" concept recently unveiled by the City Prosecutor's Office and police.

City Prosecutor Doug Haubert said he came up with the ban concept after doing research and discussing the idea with police. He said he didn't know if any other cities had similar programs, but was concerned more with making a strong and effective law.

Haubert said he learned of Zea's arrest Monday and, after doing research into Zea's background and history of alcohol-related convictions - all on Second Street - "I thought he was more than appropriate to be ordered to stay away."

Haubert said so-called "stay away" orders are nothing new, although they are usually confined to specific people or locations. However, Second Street, with its variety of bars and eateries with alcohol, made a more limited stay-away order less effective.

Haubert said the "unique circumstances of Belmont Shore" made the wider ban more practical and effective.

By removing Zea from the area, Haubert said the city "took a further step to protect the public."

Although several local attorneys said civil liberties concerns could be raised, Haubert said he thought the ban answered civil liberties issues.

Several attorneys reached by the Press-Telegram said there is case law that holds some conditions of probation as invalid, including unreasonable banishment.

Among the requirements of a ban is that it must establish a nexus, or connection, between the crimes and the places. Even then it may be invalid.

However, local attorney Doug Otto also noted that as part of a plea bargain, a person can agree to waive constitutional rights.

Haubert said Zea accepted the conditions of parole. He added that Zea doesn't live in the Belmont Shore area and stipulated that it was not a hardship for him to stay away. Also, Zea is allowed to drive through the neighborhood and may shop and conduct business in the mornings, but cannot be in the area on foot between noon and 3 a.m.

Because all of Zea's arrests had occurred on Second Street, Haubert said the nexus issue was clear.

The American Civil Liberties Union didn't respond to requests for comment on whether it had concerns.

Zea's most recent arrest was on Friday, his third alcohol-related arrest and conviction since 2010, all on Second Street.

Officials say on Friday, Zea and two others were told to leave a bar by the owner because of drunken behavior and disturbing other customers.

Outside the bar, Zea was recognized by a police officer and arrested after it was determined he was intoxicated.

His earlier incidents include a conviction for public intoxication after being ejected from a bar, and a conviction for fighting in public and resisting arrest.

The Long Beach Police Department and City Prosecutor's Office announced the new program at a meeting of the Belmont Shore Residents Association as a way to curb alcohol-related crime along Second Street.

Several local business owners support the new effort, including Frank Colonna, president of the Belmont Shore Business Association.

"I think this program speaks well for laying down rules for what we'll accept," Colonna said.

A Realtor and former City Councilman, Colonna said the Second Street corridor, which is a popular night spot because of its restaurants and bars, has struggled with issues of public intoxication and public indecency, to rude behavior and hostility by patrons.

"We're delighted law enforcement is taking an aggressive approach," he said.

John Morris, a partner at the popular Legends sports bar on Second Street, also approved.

"Any tools that can provide us with a safe environment is a good thing," Morris said.